let’s be friends!

It’s not often that I knock on the door of the bar at 10am on a Sunday. No, I didn’t leave my debit card behind last night…. I was invited in by the owner, who graciously opened her bar up early so we could shoot Kim + Jason in the place where they met, and shared adorable early relationship moments together.

Kim and Jason literally kept me laughing the whole time we were shooting. They both have the best sense of humor, and would alternate cracking jokes with telling tales of how they both knew their relationship was simply meant to be. So stinkin cute!

Congrats to Kim + Jason, I am without a doubt positive that your November wedding is going to be the best party these parts have seen in awhile!

I’m afraid I’ve got to start this post with the dreaded apology. I haven’t been blogging (gasp…) much lately because I’ve been nurturing my lovely pup back to health. She underwent a pretty gruesome knee surgery at the end of May, and she has been under pretty much constant supervision since. She basically had a torn ACL, which is surprisingly common in dogs. So we repaired it with Tibial Tuberosity Advancement (TTA) surgery, which was actually pretty minimally invasive. Kinda. Except for the sawing of the bone.

Now Nala has NINE screws in her knee along with a metal plate. She has been pretty much unfazed by the whole ordeal, so unfortunately has to be given pills every day to keep her quiet and give her knee time to heal. She’s probably more hyper on her doggie-downers than most normal dogs are on the day-to-day. Can we say high-energy dog? That said, sorry for the down time, but don’t worry, I have been shooting.. and it’ll be up here shortly.

As frustrating as it is being stuck at home with a dog (when your friends call, it’s a pretty darn lousy to have to tell them you can’t leave your dog home alone) the down time is fairly welcome. Lots of editing, organizing, and daydreaming I can check off my list!

Here are a couple old (and bad) iPhone photos to introduce you to Nala. When her hair grows back we’ll have to do some doggy portraits. Nala is full of energy, emotion, personality, and very good at barking. But she is definitely full of love.

Here’s a couple post surgery. She looks pretty pitiful, I know, but these were both taken just a few days after, and she’s feeling much better now.

There’s something in the air starting around this Memorial Day weekend. Yes, mostly it’s the beauty of the official start of summer, and all of us are itching for vacations and beach days. But that also means that by now most colleges, and some high schools are being to hold their graduation ceremonies. There’s always a tiny twinge of nostalgia for me around this time. I’ve been out of college THREE years now! Eek!! But the buzz around town is infectious, the beauty of optimism spreading, and as much as I should be starting to feel old with all the high school and college kids grabbing diplomas, I kind of feel the opposite. I feel young and motivated, and ready to take on the world. Here’s to hoping that’s exactly what all of these awesome people graduating and the next few weeks feel!

These pictures really do speak for themselves, but just to recap: Victoria is simply gorgeous, a random stranger even asked if she was a professional model. Yeah. So I really didn’t need to do much work behind the lens to make her look stunning. She’s confident, elegant, wonderfully goofy, and full of grace.

I know I said it in my last post, but I really love shooting senior portraits. I think I’m becoming more and more of a softy, but man, high schoolers these days are just impressive!

Congratulations to Victoria and the graduating class of 2011! Go out and chase those dreams!

I just LOVE when I sit down for a first consultation with a bride, and within five minutes, it’s more kinda like a girls date. Like meeting a good friend for coffee. We chat, maybe even giggle…

and then,

oh yeah, business?

Meeting Sabrina was totally like that. Mike got called out to work at the last minute, and Sabrina and I found ourselves at a lovely little coffee date on a chilly winter evening. But, even more than I love meeting new friends (clients, I guess...) I loved the way that Sabrina gushed about her fiancée. I’m only beginning to realize how much of a sucker I am for love. Hey, at least I can admit it!

We shot these engagements on Super Bowl Sunday. Yep, he loves her THAT much. No wonder she gushes!! I think we only missed the first quarter or so though… But it was a gorgeous breezy day and we trekked out to the Claremont Colleges, and had a blast wandering around the old campus shooting.

As much as I LOVE shooting weddings, sometimes Engagement sessions give weddings a good run for their money. There’s something about the unhurried meandering through a city, beach, wherever we go – that just tugs at my heartstrings.

There’s time for the couple to slow down, and really experience their love for each other. They get to hold hands, snuggle, whisper sweet nothings… all those fabulous and cheesy things that sometimes the rush of life robs us of. Maybe I just like the idea that I get to yell “Kiss!!” and couples mostly oblige… I love that I can provide that incentive to get the moment rolling. Most people laugh and tell me they haven’t kissed so much in a very long while, but that too, reminds me that I have the best job in the world.

Jennifer and Mike didn’t once need to be asked to smile. They both seemed to thoroughly enjoy the sweet little moments they got to share while we were shooting. And they so graciously followed along as I led them through more of Temecula than they’ve probably ever want to see! Jennifer & Mike, you guys rock, and I can’t wait for your wedding in September!